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Darren Barksdale had been dating Annette Wyatt since 2009, and investigators wanted to understand more about their relationship at the time of her murder. Detectives Murphy and Parker interviewed him at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff’s Department. The interview was recorded with witness’s knowledge and consent.

Participants:

Detective S. Murphy

Detective E. Parker

Darren Barksdale

Detective Murphy: Hello, Mr. Barksdale. For the record, could you please state your full name and address?

Darren Barksdale: As you can see, I am a handsome devil. I’m smart, I like online role playing games and I am a natural with numbers. Most people think I’m a geek. I’ll accept that, but as my girlfriend– um, she used to say I’m a sexy geek.

Detective Murphy: What is your occupation?

Darren Barksdale: I’m a manager at Best Buy in Tupelo.

Detective Murphy: Tupelo?

Darren Barksdale: Uh-huh. I commute. I am very happy with my job, and it’s worth the drive to me.

Detective Parker: How does someone who is good with numbers end up working at Best Buy?

Darren Barksdale: I get that a lot. I have my degree in accounting, but for now I’m satisfied working at Best Buy. I get to flex my accounting muscles and my geek muscles there.

Detective Murphy: Very well then. We asked you here to talk about Annette Wyatt. What was your relationship with her?

Darren Barksdale: She was my girl. I was in love with her.

Detective Murphy: How did the two of you meet?

Darren Barksdale: It was the best night of my life. I was at the bar with a few of my friends, and I saw her sitting at the bar. Oh, she was a sight for sore eyes. She had a little red dress on and red heels, and she was beautiful. My friends dared me to ask her to dance. I knew she was way out of my league, but I accepted the dare.

Detective Murphy: Where did this magic moment happen?

Darren Barksdale: The Library, here in Oxford.

Detective Murphy: When was this?

Darren Barksdale: One awesome night in May about three years ago.

Detective Murphy: She said yes to the dance?

Darren Barksdale: She said yes to everything. As I approached her, I noticed that her nails and lips were the same shade of red as her dress and shoes. She was stunning, took my breath away. I almost turned around and went back to my table.

Detective Parker: So what happened next?

Darren Barksdale: After the dance, she invited me to sit at the bar with her. We sat there and talked and laughed for nearly two hours, and then she asked me if I’d like to take her home.

Detective Parker: Did you take her home?

Darren Barksdale: Of course I did. I ended up spending the night at her place. She was something else. I couldn’t believe a guy like me shared her bed.

Detective Murphy: The kind of girl you take home to meet the parents, right?

Darren Barksdale: She was one of a kind, and I loved her. I was going to ask her to marry me the night she died. She stood me up, and now I know why. Life will never be the same without her.

Detective Murphy: You had plans – mutual plans – to meet that night?

Darren Barksdale: Yes, we did. You see, she’d been acting odd for about a month, and I was afraid I was losing her. Anyway, I called her and told her I needed to see her. She told me she was going to be busy finishing up some work stuff, but she could squeeze me in for an hour or so. She asked if my roommate would be there, and I told her he was gone for the weekend. We set the time for 8:45-ish.

Detective Parker: What is your roommate’s name?

Darren Barksdale: Tommy. Tommy Miller.

Detective Murphy: When she didn’t show, did you call her?

Darren Barksdale: I tried, but it went straight to voicemail. Annette had been a no-show before, so I figured I’d ask her another night. I had no clue she was in trouble.

Detective Murphy: When you realized she wasn’t coming, what did you do?

Darren Barksdale: I went out for a bit, had a couple of drinks and came home.

Detective Murphy: Where?

Darren Barksdale: I went to Taylor’s Pub on Jackson Avenue.

Detective Parker: What time did you leave your apartment?

Darren Barksdale: Around 10:00, I think.

Detective Parker: How long were you there?

Darren Barksdale: Maybe an hour. At the most, an hour and a half.

Detective Murphy: Did you go anywhere else?

Darren Barksdale: I drove past Annette’s place. All the lights were out, so I went on home.

Detective Parker: Did you see anyone you knew while you were at the pub?

Darren Barksdale: I saw people I had seen there before, but I didn’t know them personally. The place was packed, so there might have been people I knew there, but I sat at the bar and I really wasn’t looking.

Detective Murphy: You said she was your girl. Did she feel the same way? Were the two of you exclusive?

Darren Barksdale: Well, I’ve had people tell me that they’d seen her out with other guys. I believe they saw her with clients. That’s one of the reasons why I was going to ask her to marry me. I didn’t want to even think about the possibility of her being with anyone else.

Detective Parker: How would you feel if you found out you weren’t the only one?

Darren Barksdale: What are you saying? What are you keeping from me? If you know something, you must tell me.

Detective Murphy: Did Annette tell you about the project she was working on for Harte?

Darren Barksdale: Once again, I’m clueless as to what you are talking about.

Detective Parker: It seems like she kept a lot from you.

Detective Murphy: Was she worried about anything or afraid of anyone?

Darren Barksdale: She was preoccupied about something, but when I asked what was on her mind, she always said it was nothing. She did have a client who was bugging her to death though. Name was Frost, wouldn’t leave Annette alone.

Detective Parker: What was she bugging her about?

Darren Barksdale: After Annette closed a deal with her, this Frost woman had the mistaken idea that they were friends. It got to the point where Annette was going to change her number. I showed her how to block Frost’s number so she wouldn’t be bothered by any calls from her on her cell.

Detective Murphy: Did you know Annette was in the office that night, the night she stood you up?

Darren Barksdale: No, I assumed she was at home. I didn’t ask.

Detective Parker: Did Annette have any enemies you know of? Or is there anyone you can think of who would have intent to harm her?

Darren Barksdale: None that I can think of offhand. Oh, she did mention that Kurt’s wife was a pain in the ass. Annette said she didn’t know why, but his wife didn’t like her. I think her name is Joan or something like that.

Detective Murphy: Who is Kurt?

Darren Barksdale: Grubber? I don’t know. He’s an agent at the office. A co-worker.

Darren Barksdale: Gosh, I don’t know. I guess Kurt’s wife. I really think everyone liked Annette. How could they not? I’m sorry I can’t be more help. Maybe her friend Naomi could answer the questions I couldn’t.